Tow pulls

[AMoore]

Does anyone have an opinion on the tow bars that grab the front wheels of your car and attach to a trailer hitch.  I don't have space for a big trailer but would like to tow my Porsche which weighs about 2800 lbs with my Hummer 3, which only has a towing capability of 4500 lbs.  I am also afraid that a trailer with the car will be too heavy?

[smankow]

These is an aluminum trailer for sale on the forum.  It's almost new and in great shape.

the issue with towing with the H3 is your capacity may not be enough.  You'd be looking at probably around 4K lbs. before stowing any gear into the truck.  It would put a strain on the trans (but I'm sure that Steve M can fix the trans for you).

 

Steve

[bobt993]

Aaron, 

You really want 30% plus tow capacity to be safe on the road.   Your car at 2800, trailer min is 1100 (very light!!) lbs full aluminum, figure 1900lb+ for steel.  Supplies etc, add 300 lbs (not including tires).  Now your just within weight, but your load is going to dictate movement ie;  tail wag etc.    I would want 6000 lbs capacity min with an aluminum trailer.  Your call.  

P.S   A member of another club in our area recently had his very nice track car written off following a trailer accident (load issue), so it can happen.

[Darren]

AMoore wrote:

Does anyone have an opinion on the tow bars that grab the front wheels of your car and attach to a trailer hitch. I don't have space for a big trailer but would like to tow my Porsche which weighs about 2800 lbs with my Hummer 3, which only has a towing capability of 4500 lbs. I am also afraid that a trailer with the car will be too heavy?

I really wouldn't advise doing this because you are putting the load of 2 vehicles on the braking system of 1. One of the biggest limitations to tow capacity is brake capacity. I don't think it would be safe, your brakes will overheat and braking distances will be very long.

I agree with Bob on the tow capacity. If you are at 100% capacity, everything will wear faster, trans, brakes, brake fluid, etc. I turned my Tahoe brake fluid black after trailering with it for 2 years, and that truck had a 7800 pound tow capacity with a 5000 lb trailer. My dually, in contrast, I've been towing an 11,000 lb trailer for 2 years and the brake pads look brand new.